The total number of employed people grew by 35,600 in November, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. The reading was higher than expectations of 26,000 people, and rose sharply from the 15,900 seen in the prior month.

This brought Australia’s participation rate– which gauges the percentage of the population that is in the labor space- down slightly to 67.0% in November, compared to expectations it would remain steady at 67.1%.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in November, from 4.1% in the previous month. This compares to forecasts that it would increase to 4.2%.

“In November we saw a higher than usual number of people moving into employment who were unemployed and waiting to start work in October. This contributed to the rise in employment and fall in unemployment,” David Taylor, ABS head of labour statistics said.

Thursday’s reading showed that Australia’s labor market remains strong despite a slowdown in October.

A tight labor market has been one of the key concerns for the Reserve Bank of Australia in keeping interest rates steady. The RBA held rates steady earlier this week, citing strong a labor market and sticky underlying inflation.

Strength in the labor market has also kept inflation underpinned amid strong consumer demand.

“Compared with outcomes before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment and underemployment measures are still low, while trend employment and participation measures are around all-time highs. This suggests the labour market continues to be relatively tight,” Taylor said.